Hate Crime Charge Dropped Against Cooney

You may recall that I suggested last October that the hate crime charge leveled against the son of a former high ranking Bush Administration official looked like another Duke lacrosse injustice. Not long after I first suggested that, it became apparent the prosecution's case against Phillip Cooney, a Georgetown University sophomore, was falling apart. My suspicions have now been confirmed by the U.S. Attorney's decision to drop all charges against Cooney. The victim used Cooney's Facebook profile and photo to identify him as a suspect after he said a classmate allegedly overheard Cooney discussing the assault. The victim later identified Cooney in a police lineup and Cooney was charged, even though the classmate told police he never told the victim Cooney had discussed the assault. Where does Cooney go to get his reputation back now?